Selected quad for the lemma: church_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
church_n	article_n	catholic_a	creed_n	4,227	5	10.2976	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A72940	A declaration of the recantation of Iohn Nichols (for the space almost of two yeeres the Popes scholer in the English Seminarie or Colledge at Rome) which desireth to be reconciled and receiued as a member into the true Church of Christ in England.	Nicholls, John, 1555-1584?	1581 (1581)	STC 18533; STC 18533.5; ESTC S113205	57,669	199

praedicare quae saluti animarum cōuenire videantur non pauca praedicant quae ad perennem animarum perniciem ducūt Whiles that the Romish priests endeuor as much as they may to preache many thinges which seeme to agree to the saluation of soules then teach they not few things which tende to the perpetuall destructiō therof The first point of their deuilish doctrine in seducing the blinde and ignorant people is this To tell vs that we leaue this article of our Creede vnbeleeued Credo sanctam Catholicam Ecclesiam I beleeue in the holy Catholike Church if we acknowledge not the Romane church to be the holy catholique Church As though that were true In the iudgemēt of all the learned and godly the Catholique Church is dispersed ouer the face of the earth not tied or vnited to any proper place as Rome or person as the Pope The Councill of Nice in tyme past committed the charge of the Catholique Church to three principall Patriarkes Rome Alexandria and Antioch which afterwards came to Constantinople Nilius in his booke de primatu Romani Pontificis of the supremacie of the Bishop of Rome sayth Quandoquidem quaedā prouinciae spectant ad ecclesiam Romanam aliquae ad Episcopum Alexandriae aliquae ad Episcopum Constantinapolaeos iam non magis subditae sunt Romano Episcopo quam Romanus Episcopus subditus sit illis Primacie by lymitatiō Forasmuch as certayne countries are limited to the church of Rome certeine to the Bishop of Alexandria and certeine to the Bishop of Constantinople they are now no more vnder him then he vnder them I gather by this Councill of Nice which all Papists of Rome do allowe that the Church of Rome was not onely accompted Catholique but also the Church of Alexandria was taken to be Catholique in like maner the Church of Antioch I am certeine you wil not deny the Bishop of Rome euer heretofore to haue bene as yet to be Pope therefore I inferre the Bishop of Alexandria and the Bishoppe of Antioch to be Popes Christes Vicars and so consequently to be three Popes and three Christes Vicars Haue you taught our English men so that there be three Popes three Catholique churches and are you put in prison therefore No no I know it is otherwise I take you to be hirelings Pope Gregory the xiii Greg. 13. of that name or rather by his right name Hugo Bon compaignion Hugh goodfellowe hath brybed you with his money that you should preach him to be Pope alone and none other Is this pretie stuffe vt amor nummi esset casus multorum that the loue of money should be the fall of many I will speake a litle more touching your Catholique church Athanasius saith Roma est metropolis Romanae ditio nis Rome is the mother church not of the whole worlde but of the prouince of Rome I wil not speake of Englād Ireland Scotland Frāce Dēmarke Polonia Suetia Bohoemia of Germanie Heluetia Prussia Russia Lituania Pomerania Austria Rhetia Vallis Tellina c. where the Gospel florisheth But is your church the mother church and hath your Pope gouernmēt and iurisdiction ouer the churches in Asia and Affricke It is well knowen that there is Christianitie in Asia Affricke Armenia Aethiopia Cyprus Constantinople and other places where the Pope dareth not once peepe for all his pontificalitie at Rome And in respect of all Christian assemblies faithfull members wheresoeuer the church is called Catholique that is meant vniuersall So that your church and all churches are to bee tried and knowen not by your erring councils canons constitutions decrees and glosses but by the word of God which is the touchstone of trueth Ireneus saith Lib. 3. cap. 11. Columna firmamentum ecclesiae est Euangelium spiritus vitae The pillar and buttresse of the church is the Gospell and spirit of life August de vnitate Eccle lib. 3. cap. 3. Augustine vnto the Donatistes saith Sunt certe libri dominici quorum authoritati vtrique consentimus vtrique credimus vtrique seruimus ibi quaeramus ecclesiā ibi discutiamus causam nostram There are verely bookes of our Lorde vnto the authoritie whereof eche part agreeth eche part beleeueth and eche part regardeth Church to be sought in the scripture there let vs seeke for the church and thereby let vs examine and trie our matters This I thought good to note here least that any of this faithfull congregation should at any time be caried away with the bare name of your catholique churche Nowe moreouer you seeke to proue your church by antiquitie multitude succession of person or place none otherwise then false coyners who will not haue their money knowē by the finenesse of golde or by the touchstone but by the waight by the sounde by the coyne and by the colour which they may easely counterfeite Therefore they alledge antiquitie vnto vs following that which was spoken vnto Iob by one of his friendes Iob. cap. 8.8 Consule quaeso priscam aetatem et compara te ad peruestigationem maiorum illorum Aske for the auncient generation and prepare thy selfe to seeke for the fathers Iob. 32.7 Prouecti aetate loquentur et annosi notam facient sapientiam Dayes shall speake the multitude of yeeres shall teach wisedome To whom I could answere by Iob himself euē in the verse next following 9. vers Magistri semper sapientes non sunt neque senes omni tempore intelligunt Iudicium The masters are not alwaies wise neither do the olde men alwayes vnderstād Iudgement Profectò spiritus ille in mortali 8. vers et afflatus omni potentis efficit eos intelligentes It is the spirit of God not yeres that ought to speak in man August ad Pet. Diac. cap. 34. If antiquitie should preuaile why then I pray you is the Church compared to a litle Barke or Ship which the more she is vpon the sea the more shee leaketh vnto a house which with age decayeth falleth to ruine to a Citie and the policie of it which is corrupted from tyme to time if it be not brought backe to the first institution to a mans body whereunto yeeres do bryng all kindes of euill to be short age is euen as sickenesse it selfe to the most healthfull and temperate body in the world I say thē that antiquitie alone ought to make vs thinke that in the Church there is a great sicknes and much filthynes that euen for this cause alone without any longer confutation it is requisite to bring a broome to purge it and to call for a Physition So farre is it off that for these things a man should mainteyne your Churche to bee pure holy as you do Furthermore I demand how you wil answere vnto Saint Augustine entreating vpon the threescore and fourth Psalme who sayth That Ierusalem began by Abel and Babylon by Cain The promise was made by

succession of persons without the succession of doctrine is nothing worth With this sentence of Pope Adrian the fourth I end to discourse any further of antiquitie of persons Succedimus non Petro in pascendo sed Romulo in parricidio We succeede not Peter in feeding but Romulus in killing And so is it truely for you shall haue no Pope that teacheth the people howe to liue in the true feare loue of God but such an one as persecuteth and killeth the Christians that cherefully embrace and comfortably receiue the glad tydinges of the Gospell Thus being commanded to instruct the ignorant and to feede them with the heauenly word of God he practiseth tyrannie against them Wherfore this is an euident signe that if wee should seeme to grant which in no case is to be graunted the succession of Peter vnto your Bishop of Rome that he doeth farre degenerate from the diligence of Saint Peter who had more care to saue soules then to become riche famous in the face of the earth yea to haue all men subiect vnto him euen Emperours and kings to kisse his foote Your Pope doeth alter from the doings of S. Peter for Saint Peter neuer warranted to any man the possession of heauen for monies sake but your Pope like a good pedler setteth all things to sale and he that bringeth most shal in heauen beare the greatest swaye Wherefore these wordes of Baptista Mantuanus are true speaking of the vnhappie state of Rome venalia nobis Templa sacerdotes altaria Sacra coronae Ignis thura preces coelū est venale Deusque Amongst vs in Rome churches priestes altars masses crownes fire incense prayer and heauen are set to sale yea God himselfe amongst vs may be had for mony Budaeus sayth Sanctiones Pōtificiae nō moribus regendis vsui sunt sed propemodum dixerim argentariae faciendae autoritatem videntur accommodare The Popes canons serue not nowe to guyde mens liues but if I may so say they serue rather to make a banke to get money Bernard of Clunice sayeth thus Roma dat omnibus omnia dantibus Omnia Romae cum pretio Rome giueth all things to them that giue all thinges All things at Rome wil passe for money Yea euen in the Popes own Decretals you shall find it noted thus in sexto de elect electi potestat fundamēta in margine Roma est caput auaritiae ideo omnia ibi venduntur Rome is the head of al couetousnes therfore al things there are set to sale Yea Thomas Becket himself whom you call a saint whose festiual day about Christmas time you keepe with great solemnitie Gul. Neub lib. 2. cap. 15 25. a fewe of his bones you keep in such reuerēce that God himselfe is not honored so much whē for his wilfull disobedience treason cōmitted against his prince he had fled for ayde and succour to Rome and sawe that nothing woulde be wrought there without mony wrote thus thereof to the Bishop of Menze Mater Roma facta est meretrix prostituta est pro mercede Rome our mother is become an harlot and for money and meede layeth her selfe to sale To be short you know that our fathers long sithens were wont to say Curia Romana non captat ouem sine lana The court of Rome wil not take the sheepe wtout the fliece Iohn 2. Matth. 21. Christ sometime thrust such byers sellers brokers and coarsers out of the Temple but contrariwise you haue receiued in byers and sellers and thrust out Christ and so haue turned the house of God into a denne of theeues Saint Paul sayth thus vnto the people of Ephesus Argentum aurum nullius concupiui I haue desired no mans golde or siluer Vpon which wordes in the glose it is noted thus Per hoc lupi cognoscuntur qui talia concupiscunt Hereby they that desire such things are knowne for wolues Saint Hierome saith Hierom. 1. quaest 1. lib. Nunquam diuinatio Quia Prophetae pecuniam accipiebant prophetia eorum facta est diuinatio For that the Prophets fel to taking of money therfore their prophecy was become a soothsaying that is to say it was of the Deuill and not of God This I saye that according to your dealing hee that is poore is not like to go to heauen but the rich is sure to be saued Nowe you alledge succession of places not farre vnlike to the Iewes who will inclose orbem in vrbe the whole worlde in one citie but we see that God hath chosen many out of Ierusalem the Church is not tyed therunto God hath suffred by his righteous will many Christiā churches to be turned into the tēples of the Turks as that of Ephesus founded by S. Paul S. Iohn that of Bonne in Barbarie where Saint Austin preached c. And further it is sayde there expresly Glossa communis in eum versiculum Apocal 12.8 c. that the Church of God for a long time by reason of the persecution of Antichrist shal retire herself into the wildernes as the common glose it selfe doeth expounde If euer there were church that might alledge succession of place it was Ierusalem for of it was said Deut. 12.11 2. Sam. 7.10 1. King 8.29 Dominus in hoc Templo in aeternum habitabit The Lord wil euermore dwell in this house Also ● King 21.7 Psal 132.14 Elegi 〈…〉 hanc domum vt nomen meum 〈◊〉 in perpetuum maneat I haue chosen this house to the end that my name may dwell there for euer And therefore the Priests had no other answere to al the Prophets that reprooued them but this Templum Domini Iere. 7.4 Templum Domini The Temple of the Lorde the Temple of the Lorde But see what the Lorde himselfe answereth vnto them Ite sayth he ad locum meum in Shiloh vbi habitauit nomen meum a principio c. Go and see Shiloh I haue chosen it from the beginning for my house nowe see what I haue done vnto it for the wickednes of my people I wil do euen so to the place which I haue giuen vnto you and to your fathers But if you will that I dwell there amend your wayes turne from your euil deedes Now therefore I say if God hath forsaken his owne Temple for the iniquitie of the Priestes euen then when he had none besides erected in the whole worlde must we tye our selues to the church of Rome or to any other place where all the clymates of the world are equally his temple I can not but maruaile why any of our countrey men shoulde take the church of Rome to be the mother church of all churches and the same to be an article of our faith We are not expresly commanded by the word of God to acknowledge the church of Rome Caput mundi the head of the worlde neyther is it expressed in holy scripture that we are condemned